Secrets
by ElishaNevaeh
Summary: When a new girl with a hidden past arrives at Degrassi she seems bent on not getting close to people. Will anyone be able to break down her wall? I promise the story is better than the summary. Please read & review.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1: An Eventful First Day**_

Stepping out of my mom's car I looked up at my new school and sighed. This was the fifth school I had gone to in three years. After saying bye to my mom I shut the car door and walked up the front steps. The school had sent me my schedule in the mail, so I wandered the halls trying to find my first class. Stopping in front of one of the doors I looked up at the room number then down at the paper in my hand. After double checking the room number I opened the door and stepped inside.

"Hello, you must be Kylan. I'm Ms. Oh, welcome to Degrassi." The teacher said as I walked into the room.

"Thanks." I mumbled under my breath. I saw Ms. Oh's cheerful expression disappear before she turned and looked out over the class.

"Well, I guess you can sit here for now." She said pointing to an empty seat next to a blonde haired boy. Walking over I took my seat and sat through the rest of the class in silence. When the bell rang I rushed out the door trying to get to my next class as fast as possible. The sooner the day ended the better. As I rounded the corner I slammed into another student causing both of us to fall to the floor.

"Sorry." I said as I scrambled to pick up my books. Grabbing the last book on the floor the other person stood up before pulling me to my feet.

"It's fine. Here, I think this is yours." The kid said handing me my book. Looking up I saw that it was the same boy I had sat next to in Ms. Oh's class.

"Thanks." I said before walking past him down the hall. By now I knew that making friends was pointless, so I tried my hardest to avoid people. The rest of the day passed by pretty fast and I raced out of the class as soon as the last bell rang. Outside I spotted my mom's car and quickly got in before anyone said anything to me. On the way home neither of us talked, but as soon as we got through the door the questions just came pouring out.

"So, did you make any new friends today?" Mom asked as I helped her put the groceries away.

"Mom, you know I don't make friends anymore. There's no point making friends when I know we're probably gonna move again in a few months." I said as I put the cereal in the cabinet.

"Ky, I really wish you'd just give it a try. Maybe if you made some friends you wouldn't get in so much trouble and keep getting expelled." Mom said softly. As per usual that set me off. Slamming the cabinet I turned around to face her.

"You know it's not just my fault we keep moving! You always let some guy mess with you and then run away instead of standing up for yourself! I'm sick of you always blaming everything on me!" I snapped.

"Honey, you know that's not what I meant." She said quietly.

"Save it. I'm gonna take Mason to the park." I said before walking out of the kitchen and back to my nephews room. Picking him up out of his play pin I grabbed his jacket and shoes and made my way to the front door. After putting his shoes and jacket on I picked him up again and headed to the park. When we got there I was happy to see that there weren't many people there. Walking over to the slide I helped Mason climb the small ladder before putting him on my lap and going down the slide. After playing on the slide for a little while I took him over to play in the sand box. While he sat there playing happily in the sand I walked the few short feet to the water fountain for a drink. Once I had gotten a drink I turned around smiling, but my smile quickly faded as my eyes caught sight of the empty sand box. Racing over to the small wooden box I quickly looked around trying to see if I could spot Mason anywhere.

"Mason!" I called as panic gripped me. Racing over to the benches I checked to see if he had wandered over there, but there was no sign of him. I began to search every inch of the park calling for him every few minutes. After searching every place I could think of I sat down on one of the benches and tried to gather my thoughts. As I sat there trying to think of places I may not have looked I heard someone walk up next to the bench.

"Um...does this little guy belong to you?" I heard a boy ask from beside me. Looking up I saw a dark haired boy dressed in black holding Mason. Jumping up from the bench I grabbed Mason and held him close to me.

"Oh my god! I thought I had lost you. Where were you?" I said frantically as I stroked his hair gently.

"I found him wandering around near the bathrooms at the other end of the park. When I heard you calling for someone I had a feeling he was yours." The boy said with a slight smile.

"Thank you. I'm Kylan by the way, and this is Mason." I said unable to hide my thankful smile.

"I'm Eli. We actually go to school together. I saw you in the halls today." He said casually. After a few moments of awkward silence Eli decided to end it.

"So, is he yours?" He asked pointing to Mason.

"No, he's my sister's." I said knowing that my smile had faded to a frown. Seeing the expression on my face he took a deep breath before saying goodbye and walking off. Looking up at the sky I saw that it was getting dark and decided to head home. That night I went to bed thinking about what happened at the park and decided to write Eli a nice letter thanking him for his help.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: Conflicts**_

When I woke up the next morning I quickly got ready for school and pulled out ny notebook. Luckily I already knew what I was gonna write, so it only took a few minutes to write the letter to Eli. As soon as I was done I headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. Since I always woke up an hour before mom I had enough time to make a good breakfast and a pot of coffee. When she walked into the kitchen with Mason and put him in his high chair I handed her a plate of food. When I was done making my own breakfast I got Mason a little bowl of cereal before sitting down to eat. For the first little bit of breakfast none of us spoke, but finally I decided it was time to say something.

"Sorry about last night, Mom. I know you weren't trying to blame me for us moving, and I'm sorry for blaming you." I said staring down at my plate.

"I know, Ky; it's been hard on all of us. We're all under a lot of stress because of the move." Mom said from across the table. For the rest of the morning we were silent as we each got ready for our day. As mom pulled up in front of the school she looked over at me and smiled slightly.

"Try to have a good day sweetie. I'm gonna be late getting home, so you'll have to go get Mason from daycare." She said softly.

"When are you gonna be home?" I asked looking over at her.

"I'm not sure. You can take care of Mason tonight can't you?" She asked looking out the windshield.

"Yeah." I said before getting out of the car and heading inside. The bell had already rung so I quickly made my way to Ms. Oh's class. The entire class period I was fiddling with the note in my pocket to make sure I didn't forget about it. When class ended I headed to my locker, but stopped when I turned the corner. There was a group of kids blocking my locker, and I really didn't want to take the risk of starting anything. When I turned around to go ahead to my next class I ran straight into Eli and fell to the floor.

"Damn it. That's the second time I've run into someone since I came to this school." I said as he helped me up.

"You ok?" He askedwith a smirk.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Actually I wanted to give you this." I said handing him the letter that was in my pocket. Looking back at the kids by my locker I sighed.

"What's wrong?" Eli asked following my gaze.

"Those kids are standing in front of my locker, and I really don't feel like carrying all of these books around with me." I said without looking at him. Looking at me then back at the kids he grabbed my hand and started dragging me toward my locker.

"Eli, seriously I really don't want to go over there. Eli, please." I said as he pulled me down the hall. When we reached the group he looked over at the person that was currently talking and cleared his throat.

"Can you guys fine somewhere else to talk? She kind of needs to get to her locker." Eli said calmly. When the boy rolled his eyes and went back to talking I could see Eli's hands clench into fists.

"Eli, stop!" I said frantically as he took a step toward the boy.

"Come on, Eli! It's not worth it! I can just carry my books with me!" I said stepping in front of him trying to hold him back.

"Haha, you have to have your little girlfriend stand up for you. That's just pathetic." The boy said from behind me. It took all my will power not to turn around and punch him as hard as possibly, but somehow I manaded.

"Come on, Eli." I said pulling him away down the hall. Once we were a good bit away from them I let go of his arm and slumped against a row of lockers.

"I could have easily beat the crap out of that guy." Eli said glaring down the hall.

"Trust me that guy wasn't worth it." I said closing my eyes. I tried to block the memories that were forcing their way into my mind, but it was no good. As I leaned against the lockers I felt the slight draft of someone walking past.

"Eli, don't. You're the only person I really know here and I don't want either of us to get kicked out." I said grabbing his arm. With a sigh he stopped and turned around to face me.

"Come on, you can put your stuff in my locker for now." He said as we started walking down the hall again. After putting my stuff in his locker we headed to our classes. I had completely forgotten about my letter to Eli until the end of the day. As I walked out of the school I sighed and threw my messanger bag over my shoulder. I was just about to walk off school property when a jet black hearse pulled up beside me. Looking over at it I stopped walking and turned as the window rolled down.

"Hey, want a ride?" I heard a familliar voice say from inside. Leaning down I peered through the window to see Eli looking back at me. It seemed like no matter what I just kept running into him, not that I minded. Smiling I opened the door and climbed in.

"This is your car?" I asked as I put my bag in the back.

"Yeah, this is Morty. I doesn't bother you that I drive a hearse?" He asked as we started down the road.

"Actually, I think it's pretty cool." I said looking around the car. We were about to turn onto the road I lived on when I remembered Mason was still at daycare.

"Shit!" I said looking out the window.

"What's wrong?" Eli asked looking over at me.

"I forgot I have to pick Mason up from daycare." I said still looking out the window.

"I can take you to get him." He said stopping Morty in the middle of the road. Looking over at him I smiled slightly.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother." I said softly. Giving a slight nod he headed to the end of the road and turned around. When we got to the daycare center I looked over at Eli.

"Um...not to seem mean, but could you wait by the sidewalk? I don't know how Mrs. Collins would react if I came to pick up Mason in a hearse." I said politely. Giving an understanding nod he looked over at me with a crooked smile. Looking down at my hands I sighed before getting out of the car and walking over to the doors of the daycare. Before going inside I looked over my shoulder to see Eli waiting on the curb, but I felt horrible. After getting Mason I walked back outside to the car and got in. For most of the ride neither of us said anything, and I could tell what I had said earlier had hurt him. Half way home I looked over at him and cleared my throat.

"Eli, I'm sorry about what I said earlier it's just...I can't risk anything that might get Mason taken away." I said quietly as I stared down at Mason sleeping peacefully in my arms. He didn't say anything as we pulled up in front of my house and my mom came out to greet us. Opening the door I didn't even care that mom was already home as I handed Mason to her.

"Mom, can you take him inside, I need to talk to Eli for a minute." I said. Flashing me an understanding smile she took Mason inside. Closing the door again I turned to look at Eli and waited until he was looking at me.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3: Kylan's Sister**_

"I don't like telling people about my sister, but I don't want you to be mad at me. Two years ago my sister got together with a guy we went to school with. At first Mark seemed like he really cared about my sister, but after a few months it started going down hill. He started drinking a lot and whenever he was actually home all he did was sleep. For a little while my sister put up with it, but eventually she realized she had to say something to him. When she finally confronted him about it he got mad and started hitting her. Whenever she said something about his drinking or something the same thing always happened. Eventually she stopped trying to get him to change, but that only lasted until she got pregnant with Mason. After she found out they were going to be parents she decided she seriously had to get him to stop drinking. She tried everything she could think of to get him to quit, but nothing worked. After Mason was born she tried again, but still failed. Finally mom and I convinced her to leave him and take Mason. When she tried to leave he snapped and began hitting her again, but this time he didn't stop. He killed my sister that night. Now he's in prison and mom and I have custody of Mason." I said staring at my hands. Sighing I closed my eyes waiting for Eli's reaction. After a few seconds of silence I decided to go inside, but as I reached for the door handle I felt a gentle hand grab my wrist. Turning around Eli pulled me into a warm hug and rested his head on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get upset." He said softly. Letting out a sigh of relief I pulled away and looked at him.

"It's ok. So, we're still friends right?" I asked. Flashing me a crooked smile he nodded and grabbed my bag out of the back. Getting out of the car I gave a quick wave as he drove off down the road. Heading inside I couldn't stop smiling. That was the first time in over a year that I had been able to talk to someone about my sister. That night mom and I didn't get into any arguments and I actually went to bed early for the first time in months. The next morning I woke up and went through my normal morning routine, but when mom got up we actually talked at breakfast.

"So, who was that boy that drove you home yesterday?" She asked taking a sip of her coffee.

"That's my new friend Eli. He actually drove me to the daycare center to pick up Mason too." I said casually.

"Wait you went to pick up Mason in a hearse?" Mom said in shock.

"Don't worry, Mom. Eli waited by the curb, so they didn't see the hearse." I said frowning at the fact that my mom thought I was an idiot. Looking over at the clock I saw that it was almost time for us to leave. Standing up I picked up the dishes and put them in the dish washer before heading to my room to finish getting ready. Once I was done putting my stuff back in my bag I headed out to the car where mom was already waiting. When we got to the school mom told me that she would be home early.

"Here," she said handing me fourty dollars, "Why don't you go to the arcade or something?"

"Are you sure?" I asked reaching hesitantly for the money.

"Yeah, I can take care of Mason tonight. It's Friday night, so go have some fun. It's nice seeing you actually enjoy a place for once." She said with a loving smile. Smiling back I took the money and put it in my pocket before giving mom a big hug.

"Thanks, Mom." I said before getting out of the car and waving to her as she drove off toward work. Heading inside I actually managed to get to class on time and take my seat minutes before the late bell even rang. Pulling out my homework I quickly double checked it to make sure I would at least get a half way decent grade. As Ms. Oh came around to collect our work she began explaining our assignment for the day. I got through the class quickly and without anyone talking to me, as per usual, and I exited the room quickly when the bell rang. Walking down the hall to my locker I was surprised to see that the kids from the day before were no where in sight. Opening my locker door I stuffed my books inside. Down the hall I heard people chattering excitedly and headed toward the comotion. Walking around the corner I saw a tall indian boy standing by the cafeteria doors smirking as he watched everyone talking in the large room. Walking up I stopped next to himand watched as everyone hurried about the room. Turning around he looked down at me and smiled.

"You must be the new girl everyone's been talking about. I'm Sav, student council president." He said holding his hand out for me to shake. Turning to face him I hesitantly reached out and shook his hand.

"Kylan. So, what's going on?" I said looking back into the cafeteria. Following my gaze he gaze a soft chucle.

"It's Club Sign Up Day." He said.

"What's that?" I asked looking up at him.

"What your last school didn't have one?" He asked looking down at me in amazement. Shaking my head no I looked back into the room.

"Well, see the booths along the wall?" He asked pointing to the other side of the cafeteria.

"Yeah." I said as we walked into the crowded room. He lead me through the crowd to each booth.

"See, each booth is for a different club. Everyone comes here between the first two periods to sign up for a club, but there are a few people that don't sign up for anything." He said like he had said this same thing hundreds of times before. After checking out a few more booths I had the idea of it.

"Well, I gotta go but I'll see you around. Good luck." He said before heading off through the crowd. Trying to push my way between people to the other booths I ended up getting shoved repeatedly and was about to give up on the whole thing when someone cshoved me and made me fall. Catching myself I kept from hitting the floor and was glad to see someone's hand appear in front of me to help me up.

"You ok?" A cute boy in a beanie asked as he helped me up.

"I swear I'm getting sick of falling over all the time." I said anger clear in my voice.

"Yeah the people here can be pretty rude some times, but some of them are pretty cool. My name's Adam, what's yours?" He said as I dusted myself off.

"Kylan Pierce, but you can just call me Ky if you want." I siad looking at him. He flashed me a little grin before I got pushed in the back and almost toppled to the floor again. Luckily he managed to catch me before I fell to far and steadied me again.

"Maybe we should get out of the crowd." He suggested leading me through the mess of people. When we got out of the crowd I looked up to see that we were in front of the booth for the Drama Club. Smiling I picked up the pen on the table and signed up for the club.

"Thanks for getting me out of that chaos." I said looking over at Adam then the crowd.

"No problem. So, you signed up?" He asked looking down at the paper I had just signed.

"Yeah." I said with a smile.

"Cool, I'm in Drama Club too. All the clubs are having their first meeting today after school. If you want I could meet you out front and walk you to the auditorium so you don't get lost." He said happily. Flashing him another smile I nodded in agreement before heading to my class. Come to find out I had sixth period with Adam for Ballroom Dance, and I had eigth period Biology with Sav. I didn't know why but making friends here didn't bother as much now as it had two days ago. When the last bell of the day rang I walked to the front steps of the school with Sav before saying bye and looking around for Adam.

"Hey, ready for our first club meeting?" He asked sneaking up behind me.

"Yeah." I said after recovering from my shock. With that we headed back into the school to the auditorium, but when Adam opened the door I stopped dead in my tracks.


	4. Chapter 4

___**Chapter 4: Good Day Gone Bad**_

"Hey, Eli, what's up?" Adam said walking over to Eli. Snapping out of my daze I walked over to them and smiled.

"Oh, this is my new friend." Adam said gesturing to me.

"We've met." Eli said flashing us a grin. Hearing the door behind us open we all looked behind us and saw Ms. Oh walking toward us. As she walked up on stage everyone else took a seat. Taking a seat next to Eli I waited for Ms. Oh to speak.

"I'm glad to see so many of you here for the Drama Club. Now I know this is our first club meeting, but the principal has asked me to put together a play for ouropen house next month. Today I'd like you all to start on script. You will have until next Friday at our next meeting to turn it in. I will read each script and choose the one that is written best, has the best plto, and I think everyone will enjoy." Ms. Oh said with a smile. Since the club meeting didn't end for another hour we all got to work on our scripts. Well, everyone except a few people in the back who wouldn't stop talking. Putting my notebook and pencil on my lap I leaned forward and closed my eyes with a heavy sigh. Just when I had decided to give up on writing my script I felt something slip over my head and cover my ears. Looking up I touched my ear and felt cold plastic.

"You can listen to it until we leave." Eli said as he handed me his Ipod. Smiling thankfully I took the Ipod and found a song I liked. My smile grew as My Darkest Days blared in my ears. Flashing one last thankful smile at Eli I began working on my script again. When the meeting ended Eli pulled the headphones off and smiled down at me. As I put my stuff back in my bag Eli and Adam waited by the doors. When we got out to the front steps Adam sighed.

"What's wrong?" I asked looking over at him.

"My mom was supposed to be here to pick meup." He said. Stuffing my hands in my pockets I sighed too, but my spirits lifted when I felt the folded up money mom had given me.

"Where's a cool place to hang out?" I asked looking between my friends.

"The Dot." They said giving me a puzzled look.

"Perfect." I said with a smile as I took each of their hands and started down the steps. We all got into Morty and headed for The Dot with me smiling the whole time. When we arrived at the little cafe we all got out and headed inside. While the boys found us seats I got us each a coffee and something to eat. Walking over to the booth they had just got us I paused for a second and stared at them. From opposite sides of the table they looked up at me and smiled. It only took a few seconds for me to figure out what was going on and I gave a slight laugh as I sat our food and drinks on the table.

"Not gonna work guys." I said as I pulled a chair over from the table behind me and sat down at the end of the table. Grinning happily across the table at each other they scooted to the ends of the seats. Smiling I handed them their drinks and food as I took a sip of my own coffee.

"So, what was with the random decision to come to The Dot?" Adam asked looking over at me.

"It's to celebrate. My mom gave me some money and told me to go have fun, but I was planning to spend it on arcade games. This is to celebrate having new friends to hang out with." I said happily.

"So, you've decided to make friends?" Eli asked as I ripped a little piece off my donut.

"Yeah, I think it might be nice to make somefriends. At least if I have friends I won't be sitting at home all the time." I said before putting the piece of donut in my mouth. Looking up I smiled at both of them; it was nice having people to talk to. We talked for a little while longer before it was almost Adam's curfew. We piled back into Morty and drove Adam the few short blocks to his house. After giving him a hug bye I got back in the passenger seat and looked over at Eli.

"Where to now?" I asked not wanting to go home yet.

"We could go to the park." He suggested. Giving an approving nod we headed to the park. When we got there I waited for Eli to get out and walked around the car so I was standing beside him.

"I'll race you to the swings." I said cheerfully. Smirking at me he took off toward the swing set.

"Hey, that's cheating!" I called as I raced after him. I didn't know why but I actually enjoyed having friends and having fun. Running past him I reached the swings a few seconds before him. Grabbing one of the swings I plopped down on the seat and tried to catch my breath.

"You seem pretty cheerful today." Eli said as he sat down on the swing beside me.

"I don't know why, but I've been in a good mood ever since I got up this morning." I said looking over at him. As soon as my eyes met his I looked back at the ground. It was hard to believe that this place was real; that Eli and Adam were real. Sighing I began to swing back and forth. As I got higher up in the air I leaned back and let the wind rush through my hair. After hanging out on the swings for a little whilewe got bored and went over to sit on the hood of the car.

"I'm gonna miss this place." I said as we laid on the hood staring up at the sky.

"What do you mean?" Eli asked propping himself up on his elbow and looking down at me.

"I know we're gonna move again. We're always moving." I said looking over at him. He stared at me for a minute before laying back again and folding his hands behind his head. As he stared up at the clouds I couldn't help but wish I could read his mind. Eventually the sun started to go down and Eli decided it was time to take me home. The drive to my house was spent in awkward silence that steadily ate away at my mind.

"Well, I guess I'll see you Monday." I said opening the car door and looking over at him.

"Yeah, I'll see you at school." He said seeming to have snapped out of his daze. Smiling at him I got out of the car and headed to the door. As I went inside my smile faded when I saw who was sitting next to mom on the couch. Standing up he walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"How you been kiddo?" He asked looking down at me.

"Hey, Dad." I said looking up at the man I hadn't seen since I was seven.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5: Runaway**_

"What is he doing here?" I asked mom as we got dinner ready.

"He said he missed us, so he came to see us." She said with a vacant expression. Once we were done getting everything ready we all sat down and started eating. Most of the meal was passed in tense silence, but I knew it wouldn't last.

"So, this is Cody's little boy? He's a cute little guy; must have gotten his looks from his mom." Dad said with a chuckle as he reached over and stroked Mason's hair.

"Stop it!" I snapped slamming my fist down on the table as I stood up, "You don't get to talk about Cody, and you certainly don't get to touch him!" Smacking his hand away I picked Mason up and walked back to my room. A little while later Mom slowly opened my door and peeked inside.

"May I come in?" She asked as I stared down at Mason sleeping next to me. After recieving my nod of aproval she walked in and sat down on the edge of my bed.

"Kylan, I know you're still mad at him, but you can't keep Mason from him." Mom said softly.

"Mom, he wasn't there when we were growing up, he wasn't there when Mason was born, he wasn't even there for Cody's funeral." I said being careful not to wake Mason up. Sighing heavily Mom looked up at me and put her hand over mine.

"Kylan, he's not your son." She said glancing down at my sleeping nephew.

"No, he's not my son, but he is Dakota's." I said flashing her a serious expression.

"I know that, but..."

"Mom, you just don't get it." I said sharply cutting her off mid-sentance. Sighing Mom looked down at the floor befroe standing and walking to the door.

"I do understand. She was your sister and, now that she's gone, you feel the need to take care of her son. I know that you wish she was still alive, but don't forget you're not the only one that misses her. I miss her too, Ky." Mom said quietly before leaving. Reaching over I turned off my lamp and let myself drift off into a dreamless sleep. Most of the weekend Mason and I stayed in my room. When Monday finally arrived I couldn't wait to get to school and actually left half an hour early. Walking quickly down the sidewalk I looked from side to side before darting across the street to the school. First period I didn't say a word and raced out the door when the bell rang. I got through my first few classes that way and when the lunch bell rang I ran to the cafeteria. After getting my food I took my usual seat between Adam and Eli.

"Hey guys, are you busy after school?" I asked as I pushed a pea around my tray with the fork.

"Sorry, Ky, my mom's making me study all night." Adam said with an apologetic smile.

"I'm free." Eli said. Looking up at him I smiled. We made plans to hang out after school and I actually managed to cheer up a bit. On the way to my dance class I stopped at my locker to drop my book off. Looking at my watch I slammed my locker and raced around the corner only to run face first into someone and fall to the floor.

"Damn it! I gotta stop doing that." I said to myself as I clambored to retrieve my belongings.

"Here, let me help you up." A familiar voice said as I took the person's outstretched hand.

"Oh, hi Sav. Sorry about that." I said as he helped me up and I brushed myself off. Before he had a chance to say anything we heard a loud ring echo through the halls.

"Oh crap, I'm late." I said looking up at the cieling.

"Don't worry, I'll just go with you and tell your teacher you were helping me." Sav said as we headed down the hall.

"So, did you sign up for a club Friday?" He asked.

"Yeah, I joined the Drama Club." I said with a smile.

"Oh, cool. I heard Eli Goldsworthy and Adam Torres signed up too." Sav said. Looking over at him I raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know Eli and Adam?" I asked.

"Well, Adam broke my headlight a few months ago and Eli fixed it for me." Sav said holding the auditorium door open for me. Walking inside we went our seperate ways and Sav went to talk to my teacher. Jumping up on stage I walked over to Adam and started practicing the dance we were learning. The last two classes of the day went by quickly and I rushed outside as soon as the bell rang. A few minutes later Eli came out and I waved to him from my spot next to Morty.

"So, where to?" He asked as we got in the car.

"How about The Dot?" I suggested. Giving an approving nod he started the car and headed for The Dot. We sat at the same booth we had sat at a few days before and talked for a while. When we were done eating we headed to the car.

"I guess I should get you home before your mom starts to worry." Eli said as he started the car.

"Actually, I'm aloud to stay out tonight." I lied.

"Cool, so what do you want to do now?" He asked. Pulling the money I had stolen from mom out of my pocket I counted it and found I still had $60.

"Wanna go to the movies?" I asked with a smile. Smiling back he started for the theatre. When we got there we picked a movie and bought our snacks. We sat toward the middle of the theatre and talked while we waited for the movie to start. The movie began and we both sat watching with our eyes transfixed on the screen. Unable to break my gaze from the screen I reached for the bag of popcorn between us, but quickly drew back when my hand brushed Eli's. Looking over at him I smiled slightly in the dim light, but quickly looked away when he looked into my eyes.

"So, I'm guessing I have to take you homw after this?" He said looking back at the screen. I sat there staring at the floor for a minute before looking over at him.

"I don't want to go home." I said softly. Looking over at me he shifted in his seat to face me.

"Why?" He asked.

"My dad's there. He left when I was seven and then randomly showed up at our house Friday." I said not quite sure why I was telling him this.

"Wouldn't most people be happy if their long lost fathercame back?" Eli asked clearly confused. Shaking my head I looked back at the floor.

"Never mind, it's nothing." I said looking back at the screen. We watched the rest of the movie in silence and quickly headed to the car when it ended.

"Well, thanks for hanging out with me today." I said when we pulled up in front of my house.

"Do you want me to go in with you?" Eli asked when I made no move to exit the car.

"No, I'll be fine." I said looking out the window at my front door. Opening the door I stepped out of the car and truned around to grab my bag off the floorboard.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Eli said as he leaned over the passenger seat and looked up at me. Nodding I forced a slight smile and closed the door before heading to the house. As soon as I got through the door the yelling began, just as I knew it would.

"Where the hell have you been?" Dad shouted jumping up off the couch.

"I went to the movies with a friend." I said trying to stay calm. Storming over to me he grabbed me by the arms and slammed me back into the half wall seperating our living room and kitchen.

"Who the hell said you could go out?" He yelled. Looking up at him I ignored the sharp pain in my arm and back. In one quick motion I kneed him in the groin and broke out of his grasp.

"You're not my boss!" I shouted. In an instant he was back on his feet chasing me down the hall to my room. As soon as I got in the room I slammed the door and locked all five locks on my door. Looking over at my bed I saw Mason staring at me wide eyed. I knew I had to get him out of the house and quickly pulled a big duffle bag out from under my bed. I packed as much of our stuff in the bag as possible and threw my school bag in there too. As dad pounded on the door and shouted trying to open it I knelt down in front of Mason.

"Bud, I need you to listen to me, okay?" I said putting his jacket on him. Giving me an understanding nod he kept his eyes on me.

"We have to leave, and we have to be quiet. Can you stay quiet for me?" I whispered putting his socks and shoes on. Nodding again he glanced over at the door. Turning his head so he was looking back at me I stared into his frightened eyes.

"Hey, I promised your mom I would never let anything happen to you and I meant it. You know that don't you?" I asked quietly. Giving another nod he hugged me and I hugged him back. Hearing a loud crash against the door I snapped out of my daze and looked at Mason.

"We need to go." I said opening the window behindmy bed. Throwing my duffle bag out onto the ground I quickly climbed out the window and turned around to help Mason. Once we were both standing outside the window I quietly closed it and took Mason's hand. Throwing my dufflebag over my shoulder I picked Mason up in my other arm and quickly headed off into the shadows. Once we reached the bus stop near the park I sat down on the bench with my bag beside me. Pulling Mason into my lap I closed my eyes and tried to think of somewhere we could go. I opened my eyes and looked down at Mason who shivered in his sleep. Carefully taking my jacket off I wrapped it around him. Looking down the street I saw a car slowly approaching us and I quickly grabbed my knife from my pocket. Flipping it open I got ready to fight as the car came to a stop a few feet down the street.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6: Safe Haven**_

Opening the door the driver stepped out and looked over at me.

"Ky, is that you?" The person asked stepping forward into the light of the street lamp. As soon as I saw his face I started crying and stood up.

"What's wrong?" Eli asked rushing over to me. Seeing Mason in my arms he gave me a puzzled look.

"We left. Dad flipped out, so I took Mason and left." I choked out between sobs. Hugging Mason and I he tried to calm me down. Once I stopped crying we sat down on the bench and I told him everything that happened. Standing up he picked up my bag and held a hand out to me.

"Come on, you guys can stay at my house. My parents won't mind." He said kindly. Smiling thankfully I took his hand and carried Mason to the car. After putting my bag in the back Eli got in and started the car. For the first few minutes the only sound in the car was the radio.

"Mason's awake." I said looking down at him rubbing his eyes. Looking around he tugged on my shirt and gave me a confused look.

"We're going to Eli's tonight." I said softly. Looking over at Eli he smiled and waved causing Eli to laugh. After waving back he pulled the car into his driveway and got out. I got out with Mason right as Eli came around the car with my bag. Closing the door I followed him to the house and walked inside. Sitting my bag by the door Eli walked me to the kitchen to meet his parents.

"Mom, Dad, this is my friend Kylan and her nephew Mason. They need a place to stay tonight, so I offered to let them stay here." He said looking between his mom and dad. I smiled politely at them and waited for them to speak.

"Nice to meet you; I'm Bullfrog." Eli's dad said from his seat at the table.

"So you're the girl we've been hearing so much about; I'm Cece." His mom said turning around from the stove to smile at us.

"It's to meet you both, but I hope I'm not troubling you by coming here." I said politely.

"It's fine, we were actually about to have dinner and there's plenty if you want some." Cece said turning around to stir the pot on the stove. A few minutes later we sat down and ate. I held Mason on my lap and helped him eat his food while I ate my own. We all managed a few laughs whenever he took the spoon and tried eating on his own. When we were all done eating I helped Cece wash the dishes while Eli went to talk to his dad. Mason sat patiently at the table until we were done and he smiled happily when Eli walked in from the living room.

"Well,we don't have room for the air mattress in the living room, but we can fit it in my room." He said as we manuvered through the living room full of furniture. When we got to his room we found the air mattress already inflated with a sheet on it. Next to the mattres sat my duffle bag which I opened and pulled out my toothbrush and pajamas.

"Um...where's your bathroom?" I asked.

"It's the second door down the hall." Eli said as he handed Mason a piece of paper and some markers. Flashing him a smile I headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. After changing into my pajamas and brushing my teeth I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Sighing I ran my fingers through my soft dark brown hair until it fell smoothly to my shoulders. Grabbing a piece of toilet paper I rubbed it gently under my teal eyes and smiled at how easily it removed my smeared eyeliner. Once I was done with that I washed my face and headed back to the room. Walking in I smiled at Mason who was already asleep on the mattress. Looking up at Eli sitting on the edge of his bed I gave him a puzzled look.

"It's the picture Mason drew." He said with a crooked smile. Carefully stepping over the air mattress I sat next to him on the bed and looked at Mason's picture. He had drawn a picture of two stick figures kissing and I smiled. Looking over the rest of the paper my eyes widened in shock and I looked over at Eli. Above the female stick figure was my name, and above the male figure was Eli's name scrawled in Mason's unmistakable writing. Looking over ay me Eli laughed at my expression.

"What's that look for?" He asked.

"Why would Mason draw a picture of us kissing?" I asked looking down at the picture in his hand.

"I don't know, but I think it's cute." He said. Looking up my eyes met his and I felt my face start to heat up.

"Kylan, you're blushing." He said with a grin.

"What? N-no I'm not!" I said frantically as my face got even hotter. I didn't even realize that we were leaning closer toward each other until we were only a few inches apart. Reaching up he placed a gentle hand on my cheek and brushed my bangs out of my face. As we sat there staring into each others eyes I felt my heart racing and everything around us went silent. An instant later our lips met and I could feel my heart stop for a second. Pulling me closer to him he put his arms around my waist and I put mine around his neck. When we parted I could barely see and, when I blinked, I could feel tears streaming down my cheeks.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" Eli asked frantically.

"No, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm just afraid that one morning I'll wake up and find out that this is all just a dream." I said. Taking my hand he placed it over his heart and smiled.

"Ky, I don't care if this is a dream so long as I can share it with you. I know we've only known each other for a little while, but I've loved you since we first met. No matter what happens my heart is yours and I promise I'll never let anything happen to you." He said wiping a tear from my cheek. Smiling back at him I hugged him tight before placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. Despite everything that had happened in the past few days I couldn't be upset around him.

"Hey, I have a question, how far are you with your script for the play?" I asked randomly remembering that they were due Friday.

"I'm actually done; I turned it n today. What about you?" He said.

"I decided not to do it; I'd never have it done in time." I said with a laugh. We sat there talking for a little while before we decided to go to bed. I laid down on the air mattress with Mason curled up beside me and stared up at the ceiling. That was the first night in months that I actually fell asleep smiling and I had Eli to thank. The next morning Cece told me that she would watch Mason while I was at school and in return I offered to help her clean the house after school. After getting ready and eating we said bye to his parents and headed to school. When we got out of the car Eli waited for me to stand beside him. Walking up beside him we smiled and he took my hand before walking up the front steps into the school. As soon as Adam saw us he ran up and patted Eli on the back.

"I knew you two would get together eventually." He said with a grin. As we walked to the cafeteria we were laughing and smiling and laughing, that is, until we got ready to walk past the office. Looking in the window I saw two police officers talking to the principal with my parents standing beside them. Stopping in my tracks Eli and Adam looked over at me then followed my gaze into the office.

"Ky..."Eli whispered. Looking over at him I could tell he knew what I was thinking and gave a slight nod before turning around to look at Adam.

"Adam, can you tell our teachers that we'll be late for class? There's something Kylan needs to take care of." He said. Nodding understandingly Adam took off down the hall to find our teachers. Once he was gone Eli walked over and held the office door open for me as I walked in with him following behind me.

"Mom..." I said causing everyone to look over at me. Running over to me she got ready to hug me, but I held up a hand to stop her. Looking up at her I knew what I had to do and I knew it would hurt her, but it had to be done.

"Are you going to stay with dad?" I asked.

"Oh, Kylan, can't this wait till later?" She said.

"No, you have to tell me now and don't lie." I said sternly. I could feel my skin heating up as my anger grew, but I calmed down a little when I felt Eli lace his fingers with mine. Sighing mom looked back at dad then at me.

"Yes, I'm going to stay with him." She said with a sad expression. I knew that she loved me and my dad very much, but so long as he was around I couldn't be. Looking over at the police officers I braced myself for my mothers reaction before speaking.

"I want to be emancipated." I said. From the corner of my eye I saw my mother cover her face with her hands and begin to sob. Walking over to her I sat her down in a chair and knelt down in front of her.

"Mom, I know that you care about me and I care about you too, but so long as dad's around I can't stay with you. You've loved him since elementary school and I would never make you give him up again, but you also know that Mark wasn't the only one that ever hurt Dakota. You knew that dad used to hit her and you didn't do anything, and Cody never left because she couldn't stand the thought of leaving us. I'm not Cody, Mom; I won't stand back and let someone hurt me. This is the only way, Mom." I said softly trying to calm her down.

"We can't give the emancipation papers without cause." One of the officers said. Looking up at him I stood up and took off my jacket revealing the hand shaped bruises on my arms and the long bruise across my back.

"Those marks are from where he grabbed me last night and slammed me against the half wall in out living room." I said pulling my jacket back up over my shoulders.

"What about your nephew? We were told you took him with you when you left last night?" The officer said looking down at his not pad.

"Yes, he's at his house right now with his mom." I said pointing over at Eli standing by the door.

"You do realize you can be tried for kidnapping right?" The second officer asked looking over at me. Putting my bag down in the chair beside mom I opened a grey folder and handed the officer a paper I had kept in my possession since my sister's death.

"After my sister's death two years ago her lawyer read he will to us. In the will it was stated that I was to be given full custody of her son on my 17th birthday. My 17th birthday was August 24 of this year. That same day my mom and I went to the court house and I was granted full legal custody of my nephew, Mason Alexander Pierce." I said as they both read over the paper from the court house.

"Ma'am, is this correct?" The first officer asked looking over at my mom.

"Yes, Kylan has full custody of Mason." Mom said wiping tears from her eyes. After reading over the paper the second officer handed me a paper about the emancipation process. He told me that I would be receive the papers in the mail in about two days.

"Do you have a place to stay?" One of the officers asked.

"Yes, she's staying with me and my family." Eli answered before I could speak. Smiling at him thankfully I turned to mom who was now standing and hugged her tight.

"We'll be okay, Mom, Eli's family is really nice. We'll bring Mason over once every two weeks to visit, but dad can't be at the house." I said looking at her sad face. Nodding understandingly she wiped her eyes again.

"I love you, mom." I said giving her another hug.

"I love you too, Kylan." She said hugging back. Letting go of each other I grabbed my bag and walked over to Eli.

"Take care of them for me." Mom said to him before we exited the office and headed to class. I was honestly amazed that my dad hadn't said anything while we were in there. He hadn't even tried to defend himself when I showed the officers the bruises. As we walked down the hall I had to lean against Eli's shoulder to keep from falling over. Half way to my class I couldn't take it anymore and fell to the floor right in the middle of the hall. Eli didn't say a word as he sat his bag down and sat down beside me. We leaned against the lockers and he held me close as I sat there crying. After a while I finally calmed down and we went to our classes. At the end of the day we headed home and, as soon as we got in the door, I scooped Mason up in my arms and hugged him tight. This place was our new home and Eli and his parents were our new family.


End file.
